Mumps

Mumps

Thanks to immunization, which is recommended at 15 months of age, few children under regular medical care ever get the mumps. If they do, there's usually little to be concerned about. But because mumps can occasionally lead to more severe problems, its important to have your child vaccinated as recommended.

The virus may cause moderate fever, pain in the neck muscles and headache. There is usually pain and swelling in the salivary glands, which causes the cheeks to puff out. Your child should be seen by a doctor to confirm or exclude mumps. (In adults, however, mumps may be more serious and require medical care.)

Should your child be one of the unlucky few to come down with mumps, here's how to reduce the discomfort and nurse your tyke back to better health.

Avoid acidic drinks. "Lemonade, orange juice and other acidic drinks increase saliva flow," says Henry M. Feder, M.D., professor of family medicine and pediatrics at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington. "The more saliva flows, the more it's going to hurt." It's better if the child drinks just nonacidic fluids such as water or milk.

When to See the Doctor

Roughly 15 percent of children who come down with mumps may develop meningitis, which may require hospitalization and additional diagnostic or treatment measures. Meningitis can lead to impaired hearing or other serious problems.

Any child should be taken to the doctor when there's fever, swelling, drowsiness, severe headache, vomiting or signs of delirium. Even if you think you recognize the cheek swelling that is typical of mumps, it's important to find out whether your child actually has mumps or whether it's some other kind of childhood illness, such as strep throat or meningitis, according to Edgar O. Ledbetter, M.D., former chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at Texas Tech University in Lubbock.

But what if you have signs of fever, headache, muscle pain in the neck and swollen cheeks? See your doctor, suggests Dr. Ledbetter. When adults get mumps, it can lead to complications. Men may get an inflammation of the testes that in rare cases leads to infertility. In young women, mumps may produce some abdominal pain, which indicates inflammation of the ovaries. It may also provoke spontaneous miscarriage.

Go bland on food, too. "Spicy foods provoke contractions of the salivary glands and increase discomfort, so your child will appreciate a bland diet," says Edgar O. Ledbetter, M.D., former chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at Texas Tech University in Lubbock. "Of course, most children realize this as soon as they eat something spicy," since the spiciness almost instantly leads to greater pain.

Apply some warmth. You may help your child find relief by applying localized heat to his swollen salivary glands, says Dr. Ledbetter. A warm heating pad or even a warm cloth can be used.

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